My ASD Child

“My son with high functioning autism takes everything literally. I have to be careful to say exactly what I mean. For example, recently I was in a hurry and told him to ‘Step on it!’ – which utterly confused him. If I don’t keep conversations focused and simple, he’s lost. Plus, he only wants to talk about the 1 thing he is really interested in at the time.” Literal thinking in a child with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) goes far beyond the concrete thinking that is associated with young kids or learning disabled children. It results from the underlying communication disorder, which makes them unable to understand the shifting meaning of words in changing situations. In addition, they tend to persevere in their first impression rather than discarding it to test other meanings. Many times, a youngster on the autism spectrum will have a difficult time understanding that some words have different meanings. For example, my grandson's face was red from playing outside, and I sai

Philosophers have long known that your thoughts can be your own worst enemy. As Shakespeare once said, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Children and teens with Asperger's and High-Functioning Autism are especially vulnerable to such “thinking errors” due to a phenomenon called “mind-blindness." In this video, we will look at some examples of popular thinking errors used by kids on the autism spectrum, and how parents can help these children view their situation more accurately.  Resources for parents of children and teens on the autism spectrum :   ==>  How to Prevent Meltdowns and Tantrums in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder ==>  Parenting System that Reduces Defiant Behavior in Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder ==>  Launching Adult Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Guide for Parents Who Want to Promote Self-Reliance ==>  Teaching Social-Skills and Emotion-Management to Children with Autism Spectr

Many children and teens with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) experience “thinking errors,” largely due to a phenomenon called “mind-blindness.” Mind-blindness can be described as a cognitive disorder where the child is unable to attribute mental states (e.g., emotions, beliefs, desires, motives) to himself or others. This ability to develop a mental awareness of what is in the mind of another person is known as the “Theory of Mind.” Thinking errors are irrational patterns of cognition that can cause your AS or HFA teen to feel bad and sometimes act in self-defeating ways. If she becomes more upset the more she thinks about a troubling circumstance, she may want to consider the possibility of thinking in a different way. And you, as the parent, can help with this. Click here for the full article...

Question When my 15y/o son with autism (high functioning) meets with disappointment, and when things don't go just as he wants them to, he has his meltdown …then it is so difficult to get him redirected back to doing what he should be doing. Are there any tips you can give me about how to try to get him back on track, to help him accept that something didn't work out or that he can't do or have something he really wanted? Answer What you’re referring to here is low frustration tolerance (i.e., needing immediate pleasure or needing to avoid pain at the cost of long-term stress and defeatism). Low frustration-tolerance originates from the youngster’s dysfunctional and irrational beliefs. Behaviors are then the result of avoiding frustrating events which, paradoxically, lead to increased frustration and even greater mental stress. Low frustration tolerance occurs when the youngster gets very frustrated and has an unwillingness or inability to tolerate the ne

"Can you help me understand how my child thinks? His rationale is quite confusing at times, and I find we are rarely on the same page with simple day-to-day issues."  In looking at the cognitive aspects of the child with ASD level 1 or High-Functioning Autism (HFA), there are four main areas to consider: (1) mindblindness, (2) cognitive inflexibility, (3) impaired imaginative play, and (4) visual learning strength. We'll look at each of these in turn: 1. Mindblindness (theory of mind): This refers to the child’s ability to predict relationships between external and internal states. It is the ability to make inferences about what another person is thinking. More specifically, the HFA child: Is unaware that others have thoughts, beliefs, and desires that influence their behavior. Views the world in black and white (e.g., admits to breaking a rule even when there is no chance of getting caught). Is unaware that others have intentions or viewpoints different fr

Research has shown that people with ASD (high functioning autism) are impaired in humor appreciation, although anecdotal and parental reports provide some evidence to the contrary. Flexible thinking is vital in comprehending jokes. Punch-lines in jokes are funny mostly because they are unexpected. In addition, big picture thinking is needed in understanding jokes, as it allows the listener to discern how the surprising punch line fits together with the joke body.  As people on the spectrum often demonstrate rigid thinking, a desire for the preservation of sameness, and difficulties with big picture thinking, it seems that they have trouble perceiving and producing “normal” humor. Research suggests that they produce and perceive humor in ways that are different from their same-age peers. They tended to prefer jokes with straightforward endings more than did peers in the control group, and their humor production was often less organized. However, research also suggests that boy

Philosophers have long known that your thoughts can be your own worst enemy. As Shakespeare once said, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Children and teens with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism are especially vulnerable to such “thinking errors” due to a phenomenon called “mind-blindness."  Resources for parents of children and teens on the autism spectrum :   ==> How to Prevent Meltdowns and Tantrums in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder ==> Parenting System that Reduces Defiant Behavior in Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder ==> Launching Adult Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Guide for Parents Who Want to Promote Self-Reliance ==> Teaching Social-Skills and Emotion-Management to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder ==> Parenting Children and Teens with High-Functioning Autism: Parents' Comprehensive Handbook ==> Unraveling the Mystery Behind High-Functioning Autism: Audio Bo

Would you, as a parent, say your youngster with Asperger’s (AS) or High Functioning Autism (HFA) does any of the following: Judges himself as strong or weak, smart or stupid? Looks for too much certainty in a world full of uncertainty? Over-monitors his decisions as right or wrong, good or bad? Reacts emotionally when things don't look right? Thinks in terms of extremes (i.e., all or nothing, black or white)? If so, then your child may be experiencing a “false dilemma." In other words, she believes she is stuck in an awful predicament, when in reality, she is not. When AS and HFA children fall victim to a false dilemma, they have mistakenly reduced an entire spectrum of possibilities down to the two most extreme options, each the polar opposite of the other without any shades of grey in between. Often, those categories are of their own creation, and they are attempting to force the world to conform to their preconceptions about what it should look like. A

"How can I break through the rigid thinking that prevents my child (high functioning) from making a connection between his misbehavior and negative consequences? Once he gets an idea in his head, no amount of evidence to the contrary will persuade him." One big challenge for kids with ASD Level 1, or High-Functioning Autism (HFA), is mind-blindness. Mind-blindness refers to the inability to understand and empathize with the needs, beliefs, and intentions that drive other people’s behavior. Without this ability, these young people can’t make sense of the world. The world is constantly confusing them, and they go through life making mistakes because nothing makes sense. These children can’t connect their own needs, beliefs, and intentions to experiences and positive or negative consequences. Many kids on the autism spectrum are unaware that they even have this problem, even if they know they have the diagnosis. In any event, HFA children can learn to compensate for mind